When Murder Becomes a Medal

-

 By Chaddrick Thomas



A man pulls the trigger and takes a life.


If he’s wearing a badge, they call it a justified use of force.

If he’s wearing fatigues, they call it service to his country.

If he’s wearing the wrong skin in the wrong zip code, they call it murder.


Same act. Same result. Different consequences.

That’s not justice. That’s power.

Violence Is Only “Wrong” When It Comes From the Bottom


Frantz Fanon, revolutionary psychiatrist and freedom fighter, said it plain:


“Violence in the colonized man is a cleansing force. It frees the native from his inferiority complex.”


What he meant was that in an oppressive system, violence flows vertically—from top to bottom. The state, the military, the police—they all exercise violence as a tool of control. And we accept it. Applaud it. Normalize it.


But when violence rises from the bottom—from the oppressed—it’s criminal, chaotic, savage.

That’s why a cop can kill a child and keep his pension.

But a desperate man robbing for food becomes a villain for life.

When the State Kills, It’s “Order”


Ask yourself: why do we honor soldiers for killing overseas, but condemn civilians for doing the same at home? Why are drone strikes considered policy, but property damage in a protest is terrorism?


Because when the state kills, it’s framed as “necessary.”

Because our system has moralized its violence and criminalized ours.


We teach that killing is wrong, but train entire forces to do it. We don’t call it murder—we call it war. Policing. Peacekeeping. National interest.


And we fund it endlessly.

The Real Question: Who Gets to Be Violent and Why?


Violence isn’t just about what happens—it’s about who is allowed to commit it.

  • A police officer “feared for his life.”

  • A soldier was “protecting freedom.”

  • A prison guard “had to maintain control.”


But what do we say about a mother fighting for rent? A man protecting himself from police? A protester demanding justice?


We say: “Lock them up.”

We say: “They crossed the line.”

We say: “That’s not how you change things.”


But violence from the bottom up is almost always a response—to hunger, to injustice, to the suffocating weight of silence.

We Don’t Fear Violence—We Fear Its Reversal


This country was born in blood. Built on conquest. Expanded through genocide. Maintained through chains, batons, bullets, and cages.


We don’t fear violence—we worship it.

What we fear is losing our grip on who gets to use it.

CALL TO ACTION: Deconstruct the Double Standard

  1. Stop calling it “justice” when the state kills without consequence.

  2. Expose how media frames state violence as noble and civilian violence as savage.

  3. Name what it really is: hierarchy. A structure that punishes resistance and rewards domination.

Coming Up Next: “Vertical Violence: The Power to Harm Without Consequence”



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Lawyer Fell Asleep During Trial—And the Justice System Let It Happen

-
Image
  By Chaddrick Thomas In the fall of 2003, I sat in a federal courtroom in Tampa, Florida, on trial for bank robbery. It was United States v. Chaddrick Thomas, Bobby Lamar Albritton, and James Range. Three of us on trial. Four former co-defendants turned government witnesses: Scotty Carpenter, David Vicker, Ava Jackson, and Nene Burns. The odds were already stacked. But nothing—nothing—could have prepared me for what happened next. My court-appointed attorney, Thomas Ostrander, fell asleep during trial. Repeatedly. Not Just a Quick Nap—He Was Snoring He didn’t doze off for a second. He wasn’t just tired. He slept. Hard. He snored in open court. He missed witness testimony. He missed cross-examinations. He missed pieces of my life being carved away one statement at a time. At one point, I nudged him awake and he jumped up shouting, “No questions for the witness, Your Honor!” But there was no one on the stand. The U.S. Marshal, Lisa Alphonso, saw it. The Court Security Officer saw it...
Read more

The Church That Never Let Go:

-
Image
  A Love Letter to Antioch Missionary Baptist Church By Chaddrick Thomas There’s a scripture in Proverbs that says, “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity” (Proverbs 17:17). After more than two decades in prison, I can tell you with every fiber of my being that these words are not just poetry—they’re a living truth. For me, that truth has a name. It’s not just an idea or a concept. It’s a place. A people. A home. That truth is Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in Plant City, Florida. I grew up in the pews of that little church on Horton Road. I sang in the choir, my voice cracking as a young boy trying to keep up with the seasoned saints. I didn’t know then what that church would come to mean to me. Back then, church was just Sunday tradition. It was fried chicken after service, choir rehearsal during the week, and Vacation Bible School in the summer. But now, as I sit in a cell surrounded by concrete and steel, I realize something I didn’t see befor...
Read more

“Survival for Sale: How Colorado’s Prison System Turned Human Needs into Behavioral Currency”

-
Image
  By Chaddrick Thomas When you think of prison incentives, you might imagine rewards: extra phone time, a bonus commissary item, maybe early access to rec. But in Colorado, incentives don’t enhance your life. They determine whether or not you survive it. This isn’t a system built on growth. It’s built on control. And the DOC’s weapon of choice? Necessity. The Bait-and-Starve Blueprint Let’s be clear: nothing about this is accidental. Years ago, incarcerated people across Colorado’s prisons had access to basic, humane standards of living: Decent food with some variety and nutrition Mattresses that didn’t destroy your spine Educational programs that were hard-earned but fairly accessible A basic expectation of medical care—even if flawed Then came the Incentive Pod system. Quietly, strategically, and systematically, the Department began to strip these essentials from general population units. Food quality declined. Mattresses were replaced with glorified g...
Read more